A Very Potter Halloween
by nicevenn
Summary: Harry wants to make Halloween fun again. A short 13 part fic I'm writing or the 13 Nights of Halloween challenge at the livejournal community HD Seasons.
1. Chapter 1

Halloween in the wizarding world.

Harry had thought he'd had the full experience at Hogwarts. He'd seen the bats and floating jack-o-lanterns. He'd stuffed himself so full of sweets he thought he'd be sick. He'd listened to ghost stories, and watched skeptically as girls gathered in the common room for a night of divination.

Back then, Halloween had been fun. Once Harry had joined the Auror Department, however, the holiday had taken on a whole new meaning. October had become the month of staking out supposed gathering places of cults that hoped to raise dark powers by means of human or animal sacrifice. In the wizarding world, the consequences of a successful ritual wouldn't necessarily be limited to the loss of life.

More often than not, rumours of such activities turned out to be false. There were few witches and wizards foolish enough to mess with the Dark Arts after the war. Which was a good thing – except that Harry always spent the last week of October in dark, empty places, bored out of his mind.

But this year, he saw a silver lining. Malfoy, who had just passed his exams and joined the department (and whom Harry had been lusting after for weeks), was assigned to investigate the latest reports of cult activity with him. And apparently he was still scared of the Forbidden Forest.

"I'm sorry, could you please repeat that?" Harry asked Robards with delight, after the Head Auror named the location to which they had been assigned. "Where are these rituals supposed to be taking place?"

"The Forbidden Forest," said Robards.

Harry smirked as Malfoy shivered beside him. He had already begun devising a prank that would have made James Potter proud. Maybe, he thought, there was still fun to be had on Halloween.

Tbc...


	2. Chapter 2

The night was off to a fantastic start, thanks to the Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes Haunted House line. At home, Harry had a shopping bag full of toys designed to spook even the bravest of wizards. His robe pockets were full of what Harry thought was the tamest product: Fright Bubbles. He had only used three so far, and Malfoy was already close enough that their arms were brushing.

Moving his hand slowly so that Malfoy wouldn't notice, Harry took another one of the bubbles out of his pocket and released it. He waited, lips quirking, as it floated a few meters behind them, and then popped, releasing the sound of an inhuman moan that seemed to come from beneath the earth.

One of Draco's hands immediately clutched Harry's sleeve.

"Potter, did you seriously not hear that?"

Harry detached Malfoy's hand from his robes only as an excuse to touch him. "No, I didn't. Now will you please shut up and help me watch the clearing, like we're supposed to?"

"There's nothing in the clearing," said Malfoy, gesturing irritably at the empty space. "But there iis/i something in the trees back there."

As Malfoy gazed into the darkness Harry took the opportunity to release another bubble, this one into the clearing. "You have much to learn, young Padawan."

Draco whipped his head back around. "What did you call me?"

"Nothing," Harry said, but his voice was drowned out by the sound of a blood-curdling scream.

This time Malfoy grabbed Harry's arm. "What the bloody hell was ithat/i? Don't tell me you didn't hear that, either."

Malfoy's grey eyes were looking around wildly for something that didn't exist.

"N-No, I heard that one," said Harry, forcing his voice to shake and his lips not to twitch. "I'm getting scared."

"iYou/i? Scared?" Malfoy pressed himself harder against Harry.

"Terrified."

"Maybe we should call for reinforcements," said Malfoy. "Whatever this is, we're not prepared for it."

If it weren't for the amount of enjoyment Harry was getting out of Malfoy's proximity, he wouldn't have had the strength not to laugh.

Tbc...


	3. Chapter 3

"Malfoy, I think you're overreacting."

"I'm an _not_ overreacting! You heard the scream. And then those skeletons..."

"Shhhh!" said Harry, for Malfoy was beginning to raise his voice. "I did hear the scream – it was probably an owl. But I assure you that there were no skeletons roaming the clearing. Now, if you don't calm down I'm going to tell Robards that I don't think you're cut out for this line of work, after all."

Malfoy leaned against the trunk of the nearest tree and took a deep breath. Apparently he had no intention of dropping the matter. "Potter, I know what I saw. I wasn't hallucinating."

"Of course you weren't." Harry injected a bright, disbelieving tone into his voice, and waited for the comeback.

It never came.

After a long pause, Malfoy said, "Maybe it was the frog."

"What?"

Malfoy heaved a sigh. "Some Muggle-born child at the Department for the Control of Magical Creatures dared me to kiss this frog he'd found. I'd just finished giving him a lecture about how purebloods were the most courageous of wizards, so I couldn't refuse without looking like a liar."

"Why were you down in the – ?"

"Nevermind that!" said Malfoy. He pulled a handkerchief out his pocket and wiped the sweat off his forehead. "The point is, I think the bloody thing might have been cursed or poisonous. Maybe I am hallucinating."

Harry smiled to himself. This night was just getting better and better.

Tbc...


End file.
